By Silaji Akutetenkereza
Eskom Uganda Ltd has today handed over the operations, and maintenance of the 380MWNalubaale and Kiira Power Stations to the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited(UEGCL). Eskom Uganda has successfully operated and maintained the power stationsunder a 20-year concession that will come to its natural end on March 31st, 2023.
The handover ceremony took place at Nalubaale Power Station and was presided over by the minister in charge of minerals Peter Lokeris who represented the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu and attended by government officials from the Ministries of Energy and Mineral Development, Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, UEGCL, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL), Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), Department of Water Resources Management (DWRM) and representatives from Eskom Uganda Ltd, Eskom Enterprises SOC Ltd, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and the South African High Commissioner to Uganda. The chief guest, Peter Aimat Lokeris the Minister of state for minerals thanked Eskom Uganda Ltd for the great contribution to Uganda’s energy sector over the years.
“I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Eskom Uganda for successfully operating and maintaining these power stations for the past 20 years. Your contribution to the development of Uganda’s energy sector is commendable. We recognize that the energy sector is a critical enabler of Uganda’s socio-economic development, and we are committed to providing a good environment for private-sector investment and growth.” The Managing Director of Eskom Uganda, Ms Thozama Gangi, gave an account of the power company’s operations for the past 20 years.
“As the concession comes to its natural end, we are proud of our achievements and thepartnerships we have built over the years. We thank the Government of Uganda for entrusting us with the management and operation of these power stations, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless handover process.”
Eskom has invested USD52m in the complex, with Nalubaale taking the bulk (65%) of it dueto its age at 68 years. In the 20 years of operation, Eskom has met the target of plantavailability at 96.6% on average.
UEGCL CEO Dr. Eng. Harrison E. Mutikanga who received the power stations from the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, committed to continued investment and maintenance of the government assets.
“As we take over the management and operation of these power stations, we are committed to ensuring that they continue to provide reliable and affordable electricity to the people of Uganda which is in line with our purpose of making electricity safely available for supply atall times from all our power generating plants.”
The handover ceremony marks the end of a successful 20-year concession between EskomUganda and the Government of Uganda.
According to a detailed plant assessment by Hatch Limited, a Canadian Engineering firm it was established that the remaining life of Nalubaale had been greatly improved to ~ 60 years for the dam compared to 34 years in the baseline report. The powerhouse civil structure was assessed to have ~ 30 years of remaining life, compared to 4 years in the baseline report. Nalubaale major equipment was given a remaining useful life of ~ 10-40 years where zero years had been assessed in the baseline report.
